Ordnance projectile



March 25 1924.

` G. T. WHELTON ORDNANCE PROJECTILE t m M m M m s A AV .la .m Kw M n W 2 7. f www PU 2 j W R Filed Nov.

E 4 E 3 f 3 specified in the Patented. Mar. 25, i924.

GORDON T. warm-ON,- or NEW YORK', N. Y.

ORDN'ANCE' raomcfrILE.

Application ledNovember 17, 192.1. S/erilal No. 515,895.

To alt'whom t may concern.'

Be it known thatl, GORDON T. WHELTON,

facitizen of the United States, -residi'ng at in the county of New York New York city, j l

York, have invented cerand State of New tain new and useful Improvements in Ord y I .modified release :device Superior for certain purposes.

nance Frojectiles, of which the following is a specification, reference being Ihad therein tothe accompanying drawing.

,This invention is animprovement in ordnance projectiles, andi relates especially to the" class of projectile adapted to be discharged from a rifle and to undergo a timed explosision, to deliver and dischargea missilo adapted to spread laterally so as -to cover a large area in its continued flight. Projectiles of this class are useful for attacking aircraft, barbed wire entanglements, vlireless or signalling plants or lnes,"and the The general object of tion is to afford a projectile ofthe class referred to which will *be more eflicient and practical in operation than those heretofore attempted. A particular object is toaflord a system of weights, freed bythe explosion ofthe projectile and adapted to spread by centrifugal force, but connected in an effective manner by Wires so as to constitute a missile of extensive lateral area, thus more capable of reaching its mark, and of such character that contact with the mark 'at any point causes the tire missile'to be applied to the mark or objectbeing attacked. Other objects andl ad vantages of the present improvement will be hereinafter vfollpwing description of an embodiment ,thereof or will be apparent to those skilledin the art.

To the attainment of the above referred to I objects and advantages the present invention j seen in ing vof Fig.' 1.

consists in the novel proj ectilefand the novel Vfeatures of construction, combination, a1"- 'rangement and detail herein shown or delgr scribed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustratone or more embodiments of the present inventiOn,`-Fig. 1 is a 'central longitudinal section.

Fig. 2vis atop plan view of-the projectile Figrl. Fig. 3 is avcross section onthe line 3-3 Fig. 4 is a plan view of certain interior parts detached.l 1

- section off certain the present invendestructive eect of the enprojectile is `indicated Fig. 5 is a section taken on'the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. y i l F ig.l 6 is an enlar edy elevation lpartlyV in etai1s seen in Fig.'v .1, namely, the wei ht releasing devices.

-Fig. 7 is avview similar to Fig. 6 of a Fig.v 8 isfa diagram indicating a practi` cal use of my invention."` Fig. 9 shows a modified form of missile or connected weights andwi'res.

Fig; 10 is a central longltudinal section similar to Fig. 1, but-showing the disposi j tion of the parts after the explosion' of the projectile-and immediately following the reease of the weights.

Fig.' 11 shows aslightly later stage in which the wire. coil and central weight have detached/ themselves kfrom the parts. which carry them in the projectile.`

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a detail.

In. thediagram of Fig. 8 is indicated an anti-aircraft rifle. 15 whichhas just firedl a projectile embodyin this invention toward an aeroplane 16.k he exploded or empty shell 17 is shown as'havingy discharged the missile 18 at a point'short of the aeroplane, and the missilel is shown as having expanded due to its rotation and the centrifugal force of the peripheral weights 19. The missile may consist ofthe centrifugalrweights -19,-

with wires 20 interconnecting them, which are preferably comppsed ofpiano wire, but could consist of chains or other connectors and a central member or weight 21. ll be understood that the arrangement and weights could be variously modified; for example, iny Fig. 9 the central weight is dispensed with land the wires are differently arranged. In all cases, panded missile should be of such form as to present considerable lateral reach, so as to eatly increase the chancesof contacting the mark. Upon any partl of the missile reaching the aeroplane the wires and weights throu h their momentum will encompass the aeroplane and eiect substantialdamage.

' The projectile shell 17 is seen, in Figs. 1, y

lindrical, andits base is provided with, a p

It wi f of wires however, the excumfercntial rings 23, ofv soft metal, to engage the rilingv of i the usual manner. Within the base of the l ajtime'fuse 24, screwed the Ordnance` piece in into place, and directly vabove this is the ex# 'explosion chamber 25,.just lmentioned, the

middle chamber 27 -i`n which the coiled wires 20 of the missile arestored, and an upper or nose chamber 28 containing the weights 19 of the missile. .The nose end -29 of the projectile, containing'the weights 19, is constructed in such a way tha-tecn the'explosion' of thev shelll the weights may be discharged.

For this purpose the projectile nose is weakened along the radiallines by a series ofv kerfs 30 which divide the conical nose into a series ofsections 31, which inreality are separate, and each of which is readily broken .away from the body 17 of the shell by reason of the formation of an interior circumferential groove 32 at the base of the nose.

The timed explosion of the qpowder in chamber causes the discharge and ejection from the shell of everything located above the powder. These ejected parts include the v shown in Figs Fig. 5. It is preferably built up of a cen- -parts of the missile and` additionally other parts, which vare so controlled as to be 'separated fromthe missile so thatfthe latter will be free of impediment as it Vadvances in the manner shown in Fig. 8. It will be understood that y'at the moment of explosion the pressure against the nose sections 31 will cause them to break ol yfrom the shell,y as indicated inFi'g. 10, thus giving a free advance to the weights and wires^of the missile.

`It is the plan of this invention to give the missile a rapid rotary movement, added to` the rotation' imparted by the rifle. For-this purpose/the interior of the shell 17 is formed with rifling or ribs- 33. It will be noticed lfrom Figs. 10 and l11 that these ribs start at `their base with a Avery small incline, or none at-all, and .theiry pitch gradually assumes the effective angle indicated at the upper por-v tion-of these figures. By this arrangement the missile is started into rotation without abrupt action and graduallyl assumes its full rotation upto the time of discharge from the projectile. V

The rie ribs3`3 yare engaged by afollower or disc 35 initially located on top of the powder chamber. This rifle-engaging disc 35 is .1'and 4, and in detail in tral layer 36," composed of steel, with4 a lead disc `37 below it constituting a .seal for the powder chamber, and a second lead disc 38 above it constituting a second seal, and giv? ing a certain cushioningjei'ect, preventing damage by thel discharge. The disc 35 is onev of the parts ejected from the interior ofthe vshell but not intended 4to accompany lthi missile in its ,flight vAnother such part is z.,

central tube or core 40 which is ,shown square in `form. and rigidly connected to the 35. -Thelower exit of the hollow tube 40,

Meeres j is provided with a stop or shoulder 41 consisting 'of a `projecting part of the disc 35.

The central weight 21; is preferably aper tured, as shown, so as to engage around the core 40 and initially it is located to rest upon the interior disc 35. The radiating wires of themissile may be connected to the central Weight in the manner indicated in Fig. 5., thevwires being threaded through apertures 42 in the weight and knotted to hold them in place.

The wires 2O are Wound in an annular form, surrounding the core 40, and in such manner as to permit the wires torbe readily reeled oft" from the upper end, as the' weights separate centrifugally, without entanglement. The upper end lof each of the four wires is secured-to onemf the four Weights by means of attaching ring 43 formed on eachof the Weights. These rings serve not only as attachments for the wires but also to cooperate with a releasing device or trigger as will next be explained. 4

The releasing device is herein shown as comprising a block 45 slidable' within the hollow core or 'square tube 40.' Upon the explosion of the shell this block, in' its releasing action, is intended to be pulled downwardly through the tube and for this purpose a Wire or chainA 46 is Ishown attached at its Vupper end tothe block and at its lower end secured at47 to the base of the pro,

acy

series of hooks 49 pivoted to the top of the tube 40. The block 45, standing between lthe Shanks 50 of the four hooks, locks them inthe position shown. The relative descent of the release block 45 releases the hooks so that they can fall -apart to the position shownin Fig. 10 and in dotted lines in Fig.' 6.' YThe hooks readily move Atogether again as shown in Fig. 11 lfor the purpose of permittingthe extraction ofthe core fromf the coiled wires 20. Fig. 7 shows a modified releasein which a slightly dilieent form of block, 45, is provided with upstandin'gpins 49l upon which the,rings 43 engage, and which' are extracted -from the rings by the relative pulling .down of the block. v

The operation of the described projectile i may becas follows. The time fuse having been adjusted to act at the proper instant the rifle is dischargedin. a .direction to attack theairc'raft. vSomewhat kshort of the der target the fuse acts to ex lode the charge Within the proie@ i e. This p1-.e 1a4 an upward thrust against the interior disc and the parts of the missile about it. The arrangement of the parts is considered advantageous, the coiled wires being in the middle chamber and the plurality of weights in the nose, which is weakened or otherwise constructed so as to open andl deliver the missile upwardly. The explosion gives anew impetus to the forward propulsion and at the same time the rifling within the shell substantially increases the rotaryaction. The rifling is preferably of the special formprescribed and is of considerable length owing to the low position of the interior disc, which travels substantially the entire length of the body of the shell. The additional rotation in the missile thus afforded substantially increases the centrifugal force acting upon the weights. It will be noted that the weights and wires are at first compactly contained and held within the upper and middle chambers of the shell but upon discharge the weights are freely and simultaneously released by the described unlocking device, which however acts only after the nose of the projectile has broken open and permitted the entire missile tofree itself from the shell. With the release of the weights the centrifugal force immediately throws them out as shown in Figs. 8or 9 and at the Sametime the disc and core are automatically detached from the missile so that the latter is not encumbered. with anything that might Ifoul or prevent the free unwinding of, the wires. Upon either a weight or a wire contacting the mark there results not -merely the damage therefrom, but the re' mainder of the missile is caused to apply its entire vdestructive effect to the object attacked, the wires in some cases winding around portions of the object so as to throw the weights forcibly in different directions` against various portions of the object.

It will thus be seen that I have described an ordnance projectile embodying the prin-- ciples and attaining the advantages of the present invention. Since many matters of design, arrangement, combination and detail may be variously modified without de-` parting from the principles involved, it is not intended to limit the invention to such matters except in so far as sety forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ordnance projectile, a hollow shell containing a powder charge and timed exploding means, and containing above the powder charge a spreading missile wholly separable from vthe shell, consisting ,of a

pluralit of weights adapted to spread centrifugal y when released and a system of wires interconnecting the weights, together with an interior device, independent of said missile and wires for normally locking said weights inwardly, and releasing them after their discharge.

2.111 an ordnance projectile, a hollow shell containing a powder charge and timed exploding means, and containing above the powder charge a Spreading missile wholly separable from., the shell, consisting of a plurality of weights adapted to spread centrifugally when releasedand a system of wires interconnecting the weights, said weights each having a hooking extension, a central holding device normally engaging said extensions and means to release said device by the discharge of the missile from the shell.

3. In an ordnance projectile, a hollow shell interiorly riled and containing a 'powder charge in its base and a timed exploding means, andcontaining above the powder charge a combinedy disk-and-core member, the disk thereof engagin the said rifling7 and a spreading missile w olly separable from the shell, consisting of a plurality of weights `adapted to spread centrifugally when released and a system of wires interconnecting the weights, said Wires being initially curled around said core, and the weights being connected to the, core, whereby upon explosion the disk and core are rotated and communicate the rotation to the wires and weights.

4. Projectile as in claim 3 and wherein the core is hollow and has a device at its upper end engaging and holding the weights, .and a flexible connection passing through the core adapted to release said device by the discharge of the missile from the shell.

5. Projectile as in claim 4 and wherein the flexible connection is adapted to detach the corel and disk from the missile after the release of the weights.

6. In an ordnance projectile, `a hollow shell interiorly riiied and containing a powder charge in its base and a timed exploding means, and containing above the powderl charge a spreading missile wholly separable from the shell, consisting of a plurality of weights adapted to spread centrifugally when released and a system of wires interconnecting they weights, a detachable member adapted toV engage the riing and be rotated thereby and associated with the missile so as to rotate the' same, and a flexible connector arranged to detach the device upon the ejection of the missile from the shell.

In testimony whereof, I have aiiixed my signature hereto.

GORDON T. wHELToN f 

